minimalist cooking

I like minimal ingredient recipes, and I found a good one this week.
Apple Spice Cake
1 Box spice cake mix
3 eggs
1 can apple pie filling
Mix and Bake

I added frosting for my sugar-addicted students, and I was pretty impressed with how it turned out. Doesn't get simpler than that.

negotiation

Is everything about negotiation? I've spent hours and hours negotiating these last 4 weeks with students about their schedules. I've negotiated a house price and repairs. I certainly know nothing about either. Then last night I found myself haggling over the terms of dating. Obviously too much of my work life has spilled over into personal life. Just hem me in.

city boy

Tonight I went out with a very talkative City Boy from Denver. Initially he wanted me to drive up to Castle Rock to meet him, but I asked to meet in Monument instead. We went dutch. When he asked about another date I decided just to level with him about needing him to be the man in the relationship-- wanting to know who the man is that it's not me. I'm doubting I'll hear from this one again.

season end

Summer seems officially over as tonight I took a last long summer evening walk downtown. I got ice cream at Cy's when hot chocolate would have suited as well. A few leaves crunched underfoot, and it was nearing dark when I got home.

I'm trying to convince my running friend that we should get reflective vests so we can keep running in the evening. I can tell she thinks this idea is totally dorky, but I'm determined to wear her down. Now I just have to decide if I want reflective yellow, orange, or green.

BTW- Google pulls up 83,000 images on "reflective vest" search.

middle

Tonight I was running and thinking. Ideas spring up on me when I do that. Do I only have 2 kinds of relationships with men-- surface or damaging?

I came home and listened to Famous Blue Raincoat a couple of times. I'm pretty sure it does for me what glasses of wine do for other people-- slowing things down and making the world calm again. Maybe Leonard Cohen felt the same way about women.

Summer Reading

Now that school has started I thought I should submit my report on What I Read This Summer. The highlights:

Special Topics in Calamity Physics- This was a complicated and original novel about a girl named Blue with a travelling professor father. She becomes friends with the Blue Bloods and gets wrapped up in a high-minded mystery. Slow and riveting.

In the Woods- A detective story written the way all detective stories should be written. The main character can't remember an incident where his childhood friends disappear and he survives. Then he has to investigate a murder at the same site.

The Unaccustomed Earth- Short stories by The Namesake author. I usually don't like short stories, but these were memorable.

I Was Told There'd be Cake- This is like David Sedaris meets Carrie Bradshaw. Enough said.

In the Presence of My Enemies- True story of a missionary couple kidnapped in the Phillipines for a year. Even kidnapped the couple strive to rejoice and be glad in the day. I was helped by this.

Handy Who?

This evening was full of foreign words less truss, caulking, supports, closing, broker fee. Aren't you bored just reading that? I had my house inspection and tried to look eager and interested. The explanations of things I could fix left me wanting to say, "Now you just write that down for the person I hire to do the actual work." I officially checked out when my well-meaning brother-in-law began on a list of tools I might want to own. It's just wrong to think of a wrench set under the category of "want."

I guess some guys feel the same way when people suggest they might want more tools for their kitchen than a microwave and grill. As if I would ever think to use that...

Post #200!!!

I took the big plunge and put a contract on the house. Then I cried all the way home because this seems like a monumental task. Fortunately, I've been reassured today by older and wiser adults that this is a smart thing to do.

I'm starting to picture myself living in my own little cabin. It's idyllic in a lot of ways- on a hill, surrounded by a lovely and unexpected garden, wood-burning stove. It will be a good place to read more Little House on the Prairie. Maybe I'll start playing my guitar again.

timing

I found this little cabin house that I see myself in, but I'm just not sure of the timing and if I should put another offer out there. I think I'm mostly sorting through the idea of living alone again. Just me? Maybe a dog too? Hard to start imagining another life but knowing it's time to move along. I think in moving I would most miss my proximity to King Soopers.

Suburban Saturday

I'm feeling very suburban today. I met a friend at Starbucks for coffee. She vowed to help me work on a new budget. I said I would assist with her wedding plans. Next I headed to a running store where I got a business card to meet with a running injury specialist after having a video gate analysis. I emailed my realtor about houses to see this week. Then I headed to the driving range to practice my golf swing. I ate a portabello sandwich for dinner. And I've been wearing makeup all week. I think I'm still infected with some style bug I picked up in D.C.

a first

This morning I ran my 1st 5K. It was a lot of fun. My church hosted the event to raise money for our sister church in Rwanda. I think it's always easier to work hard at exercise with other people. Maybe I'll find another race to attempt.